Background: A former three-star recruit from Fort Bend Bush High School (TX), Jones was a dual-sport athlete who also participated as the starting center of the basketball team. His talents on the football field easily overshadowed his talents on the hardwood. Ranked as a top-100 prospect in Texas, he committed to Oklahoma State following the summer leading up to his senior season (Aug. 2014).
After having second thoughts about leaving his home state, he reversed course and wound up signing with Houston. After redshirting in 2015, he went on to immediately become the Cougars left tackle – starting all 13 games during his first season. The following season saw him make 10 starts, but he missed two games (East Carolina and Tulane) due to an undisclosed injury.
He returned to his healthy status as a redshirt junior (2018), starting all 13 games at his usual left tackle spot. Jones was the blind side protector for one of the most explosive offenses in the country as the team finished with the fifth-best scoring offense in the country. Selected as a team captain prior to his senior season, he went on to start nine games during his final year for the Cougars and became a first-team All-American Athletic Conference selection.
Scheme Fit: Zone Blocking
Round Projection: Mid-to-Late 1st-Round
Positives (+)
Relaxed Pass Set/Punch Timing: Jones operates as if he’s been pass setting all of his life. He remains on balance as his feet remain tied to his upper half, and his entire body moves in-sync. Proper waist and knee bend are demonstrated and they both remain consistent throughout reps. Jones hardly ever has a sense of panic or feeling rushed no matter how quickly defenders crowd his body. He’s deadly accurate with knowing when to extend his arms/hands and strike defenders. Jones is unafraid to be the enforcer instead of the receiver. He leverages rushers by locking them out and immediately stopping them in their tracks. Added arm length serves as an extra barrier between him and the opposition that is difficult to disrupt, surpass or breakthrough. Defenders who attempt to unravel themselves and detach are often unsuccessful as a result.
Athleticism/Upside: Jones has more than enough athleticism to hold up on an island at his offensive tackle spot. He fires out of his stance with plenty of purpose and determination even though his technique isn’t always sound, but it remains average, and promising because of how well and aware he is with keeping his hands/arms up and ready for battle. The same goes for him as a run blocker as he gives plenty of effort with trying to generate movement. Jones is already is a natural pass protector, but his technique and angles when working in the run game need work.
Ragdoller: He treats defenders brutally when able to land his hands in desired areas. Jones carries many of them to areas way past the line of scrimmage. The former Cougars star is frequently seen giving all out effort and nastiness to overwhelm defenders into oblivion. He has the traits and mentality that heavily weighs on defenders as games goes along. Many have tapped out or simply don’t want to deal with him anymore during the latter portions of games.
Negatives (–)
Playing Tall/Backpedals: He starts low, but has the tendency to accelerate high out of his stance. As a result, he loses leverage and enables rushers to get inside of his chest. A frequent happening on down and climb blocks to the next level, he’s often inaccurate with his landing points because of his pad level. Another issue pertains to Jones’ pass sets. He often relies on backpedaling before actually getting into the process of the angles on his actual sets. An area that will need to be corrected as he begins to face creative rushers that can set him up and attack him over both shoulders. Backpedaling doesn’t allow him to react to moves over his inside shoulder.
Weight Transfer/Distribution: His game can become a bit relaxed and rolling his hips into blocks can be a bit reserved. A laid back demeanor in random spots has forced him to become an over-extender. These over-extensions result in him being a head ducker and frequently whiffing on blocks. Jones possesses a well proportioned and evenly distributed frame, but figuring out how to best utilize it is still a work in progress.
Matching Contact with Movement/Pre-snap Awareness: Following along the lines of proper weight transfer and maintaining his balance, Jones often falls victim to making contact, but will stick and stay there instead of continuously churning his feet to reset the line of scrimmage. There are instances of where he puts it all together, but those reps are far too inconsistent. Still figuring out the process of matching up his feet once initiating contact at the point of attack. Defensive alignments and structures still have some instances of where they create confusion. Plain as day incoming stunts/twists are evident, but he’s late to notice funky techniques from rushers. His eyes follow perimeter defenders when slanting inside and he remains unaware of the secondary looper coming around the hump to his protection areas.
Projection:
Josh Jones has been a high-profile caliber bookend during his career in Houston. Only scratching the surface of his true potential, he went from being an athletic offensive tackle relying solely on that to one that uses savvy techniques and bend as a blocker. Still a bit raw and needing to add strength, Jones’ baseline starting point entering the NFL is one that coaches will love to get their hands on. Still needing to add polish, that will come over time as he continues to gain more reps at the position. A high upside prospect in a zone scheme, he has the makings of being a top-25 selection.